British citizens are separated from their wives or husbands — if they hold foreign passports — if the British partner earns below £18,600. Or, to put that another way, almost half of the British population do not earn enough to fall in love with a foreigner. This is cruel and un-British.— Tim Farron MP, former Liberal Democrat leader
This Valentine’s day, help us raise awareness for fair treatment for international couples
It’s simply not fair and not right that only richer couples should be allowed to live together.
Click here to Tweet to your MP; make sure they know how you feel.
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Our couples
German / Deutsch
Lina is a Dachshund from Munich, Germany; Jamie is an English Bulldog from Croydon. Jamie worries about whether Brexit will mean Lina can't come and live with him.
Japanese / 日本語
Kuniko is a Shiba Inu from Kyoto, Japan. Gary is a Jack Russell Terrier from Bolton. Gary's income is just enough for Kuniko to be allowed here — but not enough for their puppies too. They don't know what they should do.
French / Français
Malcolm is an Old English Sheepdog from Hexham; Brigitte is a Bichon Frise from Toulouse, France. Brigitte is looking forward to the country life, but first she needs to find out what paperwork she'll need, and the Home Office isn't answering her questions.
Gallifreyan
Contrary to widespread myth, the EU doesn't stop the UK allowing in Gallifreyans — or Commonwealth citizens, or people from anywhere else in the galaxy. Photograph: Birmingham Mail
Farsi / Persian / فارسی
Maryam is a Persian cat from Isfahan, Iran. Tom is a Yorkshire Terrier from Leeds. Maryam expects to get a good job in the UK — but the Home Office won't count that as income while she's still in Iran. The stress is affecting both of them.
Spanish / Español
Rick is an English Bulldog from Solihull; Ernesto is a chihuahua from Ciudad Juarez in Chihuahua, Mexico. Unfortunately Rick lost his job as a security guard, and his benefits don't come to enough for Ernesto to join him.
Deutsch / Français / Italiano
Rachel is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from Southampton; Dietrich is a Bernese Mountain Dog from Bern, Switzerland. Dietrich is trying to sort out Settled Status but that needs an Android smartphone and his big paws aren't good with phones.
Chinese / 中文
Shirley is a Bearded Collie from Durham; Jane is a Shih Tzu from Shenzhen, China. Same-sex marriages aren't recognized in China; Shirley and Jane wonder if this will affect their rights in the UK.
Polish / Polski
Morag is a West Highland Terrier from Ardnamurchan, and Paweł is a Pomeranian from Gdańsk in Pomerania, Poland. Morag hopes that Paweł won't experience the abuse that many Poles in the UK have had.
Rhys is a Collie from near Aberystwyth; no-one is quite sure where Ziggy is from, but Rhys loves them anyway.
* Dogs in these photographs are portrayed by actors. Stories are fictionalised versions of scenarios that affect many (human) mixed-nationality couples.
FAQ
But surely if you’re married to someone British you’re automatically allowed to live here?
Nope — not since the early 2000s. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 forbade any “recourse to public funds” — i.e., benefits — to people who had recently immigrated, and their households. There was, shortly after, introduced an assumption that if a couple did not earn about £16,000 (varying according to circumstances), then they would require benefits to survive and therefore the non-British partner could not be permitted to live in the UK. This was subsequently replaced by a stricter threshold whereby the British partner had to be earning £18,600,
Following a recent Supreme Court judgement, some other assets and income sources were allowed to be taken into account — although given that the non-British partner is likely not to have a UK job lined up before being granted a visa, this may be of limited use — and couples where the British partner is in receipt of disabiity benefits are judged by the only slightly more lenient “no recourse to public funds” test.
And Lib Dems oppose these rules?
Following campaigning by Lib Dem Immigrants and many others, party policy was changed in 2018 to be: if you are married to someone British, you should be allowed to live here with them; rich or poor.
The Conservative Party supports making the income threshold stricter; Labour supports a return the “no recourse to public funds” means-testing. We feel that both of these are discriminatory against couples where one partner is not British, and especially against couples where one or both partners are disabled.
Why are you comparing immigrants to dogs? Isn’t that offensive?
If we are, we’re comparing British people to dogs too! Use of anthropomorphised animals in political and social argument has a long history, from Aesop’s Fables to Maus. It can give a different perspective on the situation.
What’s the Lib Dem policy on [other aspect of immigration]?
See our summary of Party Policy